Elenco Snaptricity® - Manual (Page 29)

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Educational Corner:
Parallel Swapping Project #19
The choice of whether to use
a series or parallel
configuration in a circuit
depends on the application,
but will usually be obvious.
For example the overhead
lights in the rooms of your home are all connected in
parallel so that you can have
lights on in some rooms and
off in others, but within each
room the light and switch are
connected in series so the
switch can control the light. 5V
5V
B C
Part B Part C
Electric Paths
Snappy says: the order of parts
connected in series or in parallel
does not matter - what matters is
how combinations of these sub-
circuits are arranged together.
Push the press switch (S2); the lamp lights (L4) and the
meter (M5) measures the voltage from the batteries (B3).
Part B: move the meter so it’s across location “B” and then
location “C”. Measure the voltage at each location, it should
be the same.
Part C: swap the locations of the meter and lamp. The meter
should still measure the same voltage.
Operation
This circuit shows that rearranging parts that are connected
in parallel does not change the circuit, because the meter
measured the same voltage for each arrangement.
Description
Build the main circuit and set the meter (M5) on the 5V
setting.
Assembly